"was written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro, who was originally chosen to direct before his departure from the project. The films take place in the fictional world of Middle-earth sixty years before the beginning of ""The Lord of the Rings"", and follow hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), who is convinced by the wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) to accompany thirteen dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch). The films also expand upon certain elements from the novel and"
"Ladon (mythology) Ladon (Greek: Λάδων; gen.: Λάδωνος ""Ladonos"") is a monster in Greek mythology. Ladon was the serpent-like dragon that twined and twisted around the tree in the Garden of the Hesperides and guarded the golden apples. He was overcome by Heracles. The following day, Jason and the Argonauts passed by on their chthonic return journey from Colchis and heard the lament of ""shining"" Aegle, one of the four Hesperides, and viewed the still-twitching Ladon. Ladon was given several parentages, each of which placed him at an archaic level in Greek myth: the offspring of ""Ceto, joined in heated passion"
"Smaug Smaug () is a dragon in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel ""The Hobbit"". He is a powerful and fearsome dragon that invaded the Dwarf kingdom of Erebor 150 years prior to the events described in the novel. A group of thirteen dwarves mounted a quest to take the kingdom back, aided by the wizard Gandalf and the hobbit Bilbo Baggins. Smaug is described as ""a most specially greedy, strong and wicked worm"". In Appendix A, section III, of ""The Return of the King"", dragons are stated to reside in the Withered Heath beyond the Grey Mountains. Smaug is"
"personality. In the 1977 ""J.R.R. Tolkien Calendar"", the Brothers Hildebrandt depicted Smaug with bright red scales and large bat-like wings. In the 2003 video game release, Smaug was voiced by James Horan. Francis de Wolff voiced the red dragon in the long-lost 1968 BBC radio dramatization. Smaug Smaug () is a dragon in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel ""The Hobbit"". He is a powerful and fearsome dragon that invaded the Dwarf kingdom of Erebor 150 years prior to the events described in the novel. A group of thirteen dwarves mounted a quest to take the kingdom back, aided by"
"with the girl. The Draco is another example of star lore. In Roman mythology, the constellation is representative of Ladon, the dragon that guarded the golden apples inside the garden, Hesperides. The tree was a wedding gift to Hera when she and Zeus were married, and she planted it on Mount Atlas. Hera tasked the Hesperides to guard the tree and put Ladon around the tree as well to ensure that the Hesperides would not steal the apples. In some sources, Ladon is called the child of Typhon and Echidna, who was half woman and half viper, and had hundreds"
"gambling, gluttony, excessive drinking, or anything else that one can derive pleasure from. Most reputable citizens publicly repudiate the goings on at the Red Temple. The Blue Temple worships money, and is concerned with the finding, acquiring, and possession of it as an end to itself. It hoards staggering wealth, but never does anything with it. At one point the Blue Temple hoarded four of the Twelve Swords of Power, including Shieldbreaker, which they never used for fear of losing them. The Blue Temple Hoard is the famous secret depository of their holdings, and is guarded by a dragon, a"
"protects a cavern or castle filled with gold and treasure. An evil dragon is often associated with a great hero who tries to slay it, and a good one is said to give support or wise advice. Though a winged creature, the dragon is generally to be found in its underground lair, a cave that identifies it as an ancient creature of earth. English ""dragon"" derives (via Middle English, Old French, and Latin) from Ancient Greek δράκων ""drákōn"", ""serpent, dragon"" or literally ""to see"" i.e. ""sharp-sighted one"". The Greek word probably derives from an Aryan base ""derk-"" meaning ""to see"""
"found Prometheus during his search and freed him from his prison. In return, Prometheus told him where he could find the Golden Apples. The apples were guarded by a hundred-headed dragon named Ladon who could not be conquered by Hercules. To defeat Ladon, he needed the help of Atlas, the titan that held the Earth and Heavens on his shoulder. Hercules managed to convince Atlas to help him get the apples, but in exchange, Hercules would have to carry the weight of the world while Atlas acquired the apples. When Atlas returned with the apples, he did not want to"
"resembling a windsock. Several personifications of evil or allusions to dragon in the Old Testament are translated as forms of ""draco"" in Jerome's Vulgate. e.g Deuteronomy (32:33), Job (30:29), Psalms (73:13, 90:13 & 43:20), Isaiah (13:21, 27:1, 34:13 & 43:20), Jeremiah (9:11), Micah (1:8) and Malachi (1:3). Dragons in Greek mythology often guard treasure such as Ladon, a hundred headed dragon which guarded the tree of Herdias until he was slain by Heracles. Likewise Python guarded the oracle of Delphi until he was likewise slain by Apollo out of revenge for Python tormenting his mother. The Lerneaen Hydra, a multiple"
"Helm (Forgotten Realms) Helm ( ), ""The Watcher"", is a fictional deity in the ""Forgotten Realms"" campaign setting for the ""Dungeons & Dragons"" fantasy role-playing game. Within the context of the game, Helm is known as the ""Vigilant One"", the ""Great Guard"", and ""The Watcher"" and is the god of guardians, protection and protectors. He is worshiped by guards and paladins. His activities in the Time of Troubles caused the folk of Faerûn to look differently on the Watcher. Ed Greenwood created Helm for his home ""Dungeons & Dragons"" game, in his Forgotten Realms world. Helm first appeared within ""Dungeons"
"dragon or serpent. In Norse mythology, the cosmic tree Yggdrasil is tended by the three Norns while the dragon Nidhogg gnaws at its roots. In Greek mythology, the tree of the golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides is tended by the three Hesperides and guarded by the hundred-headed dragon Ladon. In Indo-Iranian texts, there is a mythical tree dripping with Soma, the immortal drink of the gods and, in later Pahlavi sources, a malicious lizard is said to lurk at the bottom of it. Proto-Indo-European mythology </noinclude> Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and stories associated with"
"of ""melange"" harvesting, because they are nigh-indestructible and ""melange"" is in fact a byproduct of their life cycle. The natives of Arrakis (the Fremen) regard them as sacred. The sandworms in ""Dune"" were inspired by the dragons of European mythology that guard some sort of treasure. Favorites of Herbert included the dragon in ""Beowulf"" which guarded a hoard of gold, and the dragon of Colchis which guarded the Golden Fleece from Jason. Like these dragons, the sandworms of Arrakis ""guard"" the ""melange"" deposits and are a perpetual hazard for those who wish to harvest this treasure. In the novels, the"
"and the Continent as a whole. It is kept a secret from all but a select few - namely the royal family, the Lords of Skybowl, and some of the miners - so that the other Princes don't try to invade the Desert or capture their own dragons. The dragon gold was used to buy ""dranath"" from Roelstra during the plague of 701. The gold coins were sent to Feruche, which was then held by Ianthe, Roelstra's daughter. Ianthe took her eldest son, Ruval, to see the gold and he kept a coin. Years later after he'd become a sorcerer,"
"with Phorcys"" or of Typhon, who was himself serpent-like from the waist down, and Echidna. ""The Dragon which guarded the golden apples was the brother of the Nemean lion"" asserted Ptolemy Hephaestion. The image of the dragon (Ladon) coiled round the tree, originally adopted by the Hellenes from Near Eastern and Minoan sources, is familiar from surviving Greek vase-painting. In the 2nd century CE, Pausanias saw among the treasuries at Olympia an archaic cult image in cedar-wood of Heracles and the apple-tree of the Hesperides with the dragon coiled around it. Diodorus Siculus gives an euhemerist interpretation of Ladon, as"
"cast herself into the sea with it. The Nauglamír was lost, but Elwing and the Silmaril were saved by Ulmo. A necklace of ""five hundred emeralds, green as grass"". It had been owned by Girion, the Lord of Dale, but in Dale was sacked by the dragon Smaug, and Grion was killed. In T.A. 2941, as recounted in ""The Hobbit"", the necklace was found among the treasures hoarded by Smaug in the Lonely Mountain; it was given by Bard the Bowman (the heir of Girion) to the Elvenking for his aid. A valuable pearl which appears in ""The Silmarillion"". It"
"the hoard is a dwarf named Nibeling (or Nyblung). Siegfried happened to find it one day and bore it away. At Worms Siegfried met King Gybich, his three sons Gunther, Hagen, and Gyrnot, and his daughter Kriemhild. When Kriemhild was abducted by a dragon, Siegfried rescued her and was given her hand in marriage. This variant usage of Niblung may arise from the identification of the hoard of the Burgundians, or at least most of it, with the hoard of treasure won by Siegfried. The German versions of the tale make much of Kriemhild's right to the ""Nibelungen"" treasure through"
"their collars and chains of iron and gold only as long as he chose..."""". Before being summoned by Ogam, he lived in the Southern deserts of Eld. Gyld - One of the creatures that Sybel cares for. He is a dragon with green wings and a love for treasure. Originally summoned by Myk, later in the book, he is released by Sybel. Moriah - Described as being a huge black cat who has a wide knowledge of spells and charms, green eyes, a """"sweet silken voice"""", and """"teeth like honed polished stones"""". One of the creatures that Sybel cares for."
"than with a lizard-like or dinosaur-like body as in later belief (though the dragon of Beowulf does show several features that would later become popularized with dragons–namely, it breathes fire–lives underground, and collects treasure). The most famous lindworm in Norse and Germanic mythology is Fafnir The Germanic stories of lindworms have them guarding a treasure hoard. The Fafnir lindworm guarded earthen mounds full of ancient treasure. The treasure was cursed and brought ill to those who later possessed it. Sea serpents are also called orms in Nordic languages, wyrms in Old English and worms in Middle English. These ""dragons"" are"
"gave the name ""Cerberus"" to a genus of Asian snakes, which are commonly called ""dog-faced water snakes"" in English. Cerberus In Greek mythology, Cerberus (; ""Kerberos"" ), often called the ""hound of Hades"", is a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. Cerberus was the offspring of the monsters Echidna and Typhon, and usually is described as having three heads, a serpent for a tail, and snakes protruding from parts of his body. Cerberus is primarily known for his capture by Heracles, one of Heracles' twelve labours. Descriptions of Cerberus vary, including"
"Cerberus In Greek mythology, Cerberus (; ""Kerberos"" ), often called the ""hound of Hades"", is a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. Cerberus was the offspring of the monsters Echidna and Typhon, and usually is described as having three heads, a serpent for a tail, and snakes protruding from parts of his body. Cerberus is primarily known for his capture by Heracles, one of Heracles' twelve labours. Descriptions of Cerberus vary, including the number of his heads. Cerberus was usually three-headed, though not always. Cerberus had several multi-headed relatives. His father"
"guard the three regions of the Surface. Faron the Water Dragon rules over the Parella and protector of Faron Woods, Lake Floria, and the Ancient Cistern that holds Farore's Flame. Eldin the Fire Dragon guards Eldin Volcano. Lanayru the Thunder Dragon created the Ancient Robots and protects Lanayru Desert. Each dragon was entrusted with part of the Song of the Hero, which provides clues on the location of the Triforce. During his quest for Farore's Flame, Link aids Faron, who had been injured while fighting Ghirahim; she leads him to the Ancient Cistern. During his quest for the Song of"
"because he mined crystals from the Great Guardian Tree, and taking the magic from the forest. Then, Cronan turned on Rosalyn, and mind controlled the animals against her. Rosalyn calls on her dragon, Sapphire, and Ashwing, but Cronan defeats them, and takes Ashwing as his own dragon. Back at the sanctuary, Naida refuses to believe that Cronan is evil. Emily tells her that there are 2 sides to every story. The next morning, Naida has disappeared. The elves search for her and try to restore the forest. They rescue a kitten from the goblins, but when it sees Emily's amulet,"
"was the One Ring. Frodo inherited the Ring from his uncle Bilbo Baggins. In Tolkien's earlier novel, ""The Hobbit"", Bilbo found the Ring in the caverns beneath the Misty Mountains. It had been lost in the caverns by Gollum, who used the invisibility it conferred to hunt orcs to eat. Gollum, a hobbit previously known as Sméagol, had kept the Ring for hundreds of years. He had murdered his friend Déagol to get the Ring shortly after Déagol found it in the river Anduin. Many centuries earlier the Ring had betrayed Isildur and fallen from his finger into the Anduin"
"called the Wodensfang, a very old, ancient dragon that was told to guard the crown by Grimbeard the Ghastly. The Wodensfang tells him he was the one who gave the first Hiccup the Dragon Jewel. He gets back into the hut and the witch attacks him but he was immune to the vorpent venom on her claws gets himself covered in the poison in the struggle, wins the competition, beating his own father. Alvin is third. Hiccup is declared winner and tells the tribes that he wanted to free all dragons so that there would be no revolt in the"
"the pigeon keepers, revealing Alise's father's concern about her agreement to travel up the Rain Wilds River with the expedition. Minor Characters Dragon Keeper Dragon Keeper is a fantasy novel by American writer Robin Hobb, the first in ""The Rain Wild Chronicles"". It is written in a third-person narrative from the viewpoint of several of the key characters. The narrative follows a party of malformed newly hatched dragons, their spurned and mistrusted human keepers and other supporters who set out on a quest to find safety in the legendary Elderling city of Kelsingra. The book opens as a group of"
"with nuptial presents for the latter, and among them the goddess of Gaia, with branches having golden apples growing on them as a wedding gift. Hera, greatly admiring these, begged of Gaea to plant them in her gardens, which extended as far as Mount Atlas. The Hesperides were given the task of tending to the grove, but occasionally picked apples from it themselves. Not trusting them, Hera also placed in the garden an immortal, never-sleeping, hundred-headed dragon named Ladon as an additional safeguard. In the myth of the Judgement of Paris, it was from the Garden that Eris, Goddess of"
"Dragon Keeper Dragon Keeper is a fantasy novel by American writer Robin Hobb, the first in ""The Rain Wild Chronicles"". It is written in a third-person narrative from the viewpoint of several of the key characters. The narrative follows a party of malformed newly hatched dragons, their spurned and mistrusted human keepers and other supporters who set out on a quest to find safety in the legendary Elderling city of Kelsingra. The book opens as a group of sea serpents have nearly finished their long journey upriver to encase themselves so they might hatch into dragons. It is late in"
"a massive confusing dungeon guarding King Nole's palace. After making it through the labyrinth and the palace, Nigel makes it to the room which held the treasure. After all the challenges so far, things are not quite finished for King Nole's restless Spirit attacks Nigel but Nigel makes quick work of him. The Duke then shows up and as he thanks Nigel for doing the dirty work for him, Gola, the Dragon God that King Nole worshipped, burns him alive. Nigel fights Gola using all of his strength and cunning, and when the beast is finally vanquished, the treasure is"
"Indo-European mythologies and may originate from Proto-Indo-European religion. In Greek mythology, Cerberus is a three-headed watchdog who guards the gates of Hades. In Norse mythology, a bloody, four-eyed dog called Garmr guards Helheim. In Persian mythology, two four-eyed dogs guard the Chinvat Bridge. In Welsh mythology, Annwn is guarded by Cŵn Annwn. In Hindu mythology, Yama, the god of death, owns two watch dogs who have four eyes. They are said to watch over the gates of Naraka. The hunter god Muthappan from North Malabar region of Kerala has a hunting dog as his mount. Dogs are found in and"
"same."" (Introduction to ""Tales from the Perilous Realm""). Chrysophylax Dives is a comically villainous dragon. He stands midway between Smaug, evil and greedy, and The Reluctant Dragon, comical and timid. ""Chrysophylax"" (Χρυσοφύλαξ) is Greek for ""gold-guard"" and ""dīves"" is Latin for ""rich"". (The classical pronunciation is ). Chrysophylax comes across as a pompous aristocrat—rich, vain, and arrogant, but capable of compromise if handled correctly. Farmer Giles learns that he can be bullied, but is smart enough not to push him to desperation. Caudimordax is the Latin name of ""Tailbiter"", the sword of Farmer Giles. The sword cannot be sheathed when"
"Alex embark on their first real adventure, with Alex's adopted sister Luna and their talking flying pet Nall, to the mysterious Dragon's Cave in search of a valuable diamond. Making their way through the cavern, the group meets Quark, an aged dragon who senses great potential in Alex, and urges him to complete the trials of other dragons to become the next Dragonmaster, champion of the Goddess Althena, and protector of the world. Quark shows an interest in Luna as well, remarking that she has a familiar aura about her. Obtaining the diamond from Quark, Ramus finds he cannot sell"
"Dale. A deadly winged fire-breathing dragon, he was described as red-gold in colour and his underbelly was encrusted with many gemstones from the treasure-pile he commonly slept upon once he had taken control of Erebor (the Lonely Mountain). The Arkenstone was buried right in the pile he slept on, but Smaug never noticed it. Smaug had only a single weakness: there was a hole in his jewel encrusted underbelly on his left breast area. Bilbo Baggins discovered this, which led to Smaug's death above Esgaroth. Other dragons were present at the Fall of Gondolin. In the late Third Age the"
"Alberich In German heroic legend, Alberich () is a dwarf. He features most prominently in the poems ""Nibelungenlied"" and ""Ortnit"". He also features in the Old Norse collection of German legends called the Thidreksaga under the name Alfrikr. His name means ""ruler of supernatural beings (elves)"", and is equivalent to Old French ""Auberon"" (English Oberon). The name was later used for a character in Richard Wagner's opera cycle ""Der Ring des Nibelungen"". Alberich plays a prominent role in the ""Nibelungenlied"", where he is the guardian of the Nibelung's treasure and has the strength of twelve men. Siegfried overpowers him using"